TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Mehrotra, Santosh
AU  - sing, Ashutosh Pratap
        TI  - From Skill Acquisition to Workforce Intelligence: An Institutional Financing Architecture for India’s Skill Economy
        PY  - 2026/Jul/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18805
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18805
        AB  - Traditional Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems are often misaligned with labour-market needs because they rely on supply-side financing and fragmented labour-market information. This paper addresses these institutional failures by reconstructing the first comprehensive estimate of India's aggregate TVET expenditure, triangulating fragmented data sources to estimate annual spending at US$6.7–9.4 billion. We propose a dual-pillar institutional architecture, integrated with India's Digital Public Infrastructure, comprising the Integrated Labour Contribution Base (ILCB), which links formal, payroll and informal-worker records into a unified labour-market information system, and the Reimbursable Industry Contribution (RIC), a mandatory 2% payroll-linked levy–grant mechanism for formal-sector firms. Macro-fiscal modelling shows that an annual allocation of US$2.2 billion can sustainably co-finance enterprise and apprenticeship training while expanding Recognition of Prior Learning, skill loans and training vouchers. By reducing information failures and employer free-riding, the proposed framework offers a scalable institutional model for financing skills development across India and the Global South.
        KW  - TVET
KW  - human capital
KW  - Levy–Grant system
KW  - digital public infrastructure
KW  - informal economy
KW  - lifecycle fiscal projection
        ER  -